#Censorship #PoliceState
HK National Security Police cracks down even Speech Therapists over children’s books
On July 22, 2021, the Hong Kong Police’s National Security Department arrested 5 committee members of the General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists (#GUST) on "seditious publications", accusing them of "violating the Criminal Offences Ordinance".
Li Kwai-wah, a senior superintendent in the Police’s National Security Department, said in a news briefing that the book and others published by the Union are "instilling hatred among children".
He claimed that the book titled “The Guardians of Sheep Village” is taking the background of Anti-extradition Law Amendment Bill (Anti-ELAB) Movement in Hong Kong.
Li said the story of the wolves invading the village and devouring the sheeps is referring to the conflicts between mainland Chinese (the wolves) and HongKonger (the sheeps). He explained the Force's interpretation based on the book's depiction of wolves entering the village in sheep’s clothing as an allegory of local people’s livelihood being messed up.
Li also condemned that the book for depicting the sheeps retaliating the wolves’ attack with their horns.
According to Li. it is provoking violence and criminal behavior, “sheep, although mild and timid, is portrayed as ferocious and capable of inflicting violence.”
Some reporters pointed out that another book “The Cleaner of Sheep Village”, which describes the COVID-19 pandemic, is not from the same series.
Li, however, insisted that all the Union’s storybooks are connected and "part of a series”.
“Once you have read the first book and the second book, you’ll come to know who the sheeps and the wolves are alleging to. Readers will naturally follow the same logic when they read the third book.”
Li taunted the reporters in the briefing, “Is it necessary to portray wolves in such a vulgar manner that they are filthy and spit everywhere? Are these facts?”
#FreedomOfSpeech #SheepVillage #RedLine #NationalSecurityLaw #ThoughtPolice #Children #sedition
Source: InMedia; #Jul22
https://bit.ly/36QsAgj
HK National Security Police cracks down even Speech Therapists over children’s books
On July 22, 2021, the Hong Kong Police’s National Security Department arrested 5 committee members of the General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists (#GUST) on "seditious publications", accusing them of "violating the Criminal Offences Ordinance".
Li Kwai-wah, a senior superintendent in the Police’s National Security Department, said in a news briefing that the book and others published by the Union are "instilling hatred among children".
He claimed that the book titled “The Guardians of Sheep Village” is taking the background of Anti-extradition Law Amendment Bill (Anti-ELAB) Movement in Hong Kong.
Li said the story of the wolves invading the village and devouring the sheeps is referring to the conflicts between mainland Chinese (the wolves) and HongKonger (the sheeps). He explained the Force's interpretation based on the book's depiction of wolves entering the village in sheep’s clothing as an allegory of local people’s livelihood being messed up.
Li also condemned that the book for depicting the sheeps retaliating the wolves’ attack with their horns.
According to Li. it is provoking violence and criminal behavior, “sheep, although mild and timid, is portrayed as ferocious and capable of inflicting violence.”
Some reporters pointed out that another book “The Cleaner of Sheep Village”, which describes the COVID-19 pandemic, is not from the same series.
Li, however, insisted that all the Union’s storybooks are connected and "part of a series”.
“Once you have read the first book and the second book, you’ll come to know who the sheeps and the wolves are alleging to. Readers will naturally follow the same logic when they read the third book.”
Li taunted the reporters in the briefing, “Is it necessary to portray wolves in such a vulgar manner that they are filthy and spit everywhere? Are these facts?”
#FreedomOfSpeech #SheepVillage #RedLine #NationalSecurityLaw #ThoughtPolice #Children #sedition
Source: InMedia; #Jul22
https://bit.ly/36QsAgj
獨立媒體
李桂華「導讀」羊村繪本稱製造仇恨：狼係內地人，羊係本地人 | 獨媒報導 | 獨立媒體
【獨媒報導】警務處國安處
#Censorship #RulebyLaw
Hong Kong’s top court applies stringent #NationalSecurityLaw bail requirement to general Crimes Ordinance
Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal has rejected an application to challenge a lower court’s bail refusal to a speech therapist, who was accused of publishing "seditious" children’s books about sheep and wolves.
Speech therapists Lai Man-ling, Melody Yeung Yat-yee, Sidney Ng Hau-yi, Samuel Chan Yuen-sum and Marco Fong Tsz-ho were arrested by Hong Kong national security police in July, 2021. They are accused of conspiring with Wong Hoi-ching, another member of the General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists, in printing, publishing, and distributing three children’s books, Guardians of the Sheep Village, 12 Warriors of the Sheep Village, and Dustman of the Sheep Village.
The were accused of intending to “bring into hatred of contempt or to excite disaffection” against the Hong Kong government and “the administration of justice in Hong Kong.”
They were charged with two counts of conspiring to publish, distribute, display or reproduce seditious publications, a breach of a colonial-era law under the Crimes Ordinance, and were denied bail.
Ng, one of the five defendants, took the case up to the Court of Final Appeal seeking leave to challenge the lower courts’ decisions.
Defence counsel Hectar Pun argued that the five defendants are facing charges under Section 10 of the Crimes Ordinance and not the National Security Law, and therefore the stricter threshold for granting bail should not apply.
Prosecutors argued that the Court of Final Appeal had ruled that sedition is considered an act that endangers national security. Violations of the Crimes Ordinance with relevance to the national security law may also endanger national security.
#FreedomOfSpeech #SheepVillage #RedLine #NationalSecurityLaw #ThoughtPolice #Children #sedition
Source: inmediahk; #Dec14
https://bit.ly/325iVU0
====
Related News
HK National Security Police cracks down even Speech Therapists over children’s books
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30705
Hong Kong’s top court applies stringent #NationalSecurityLaw bail requirement to general Crimes Ordinance
Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal has rejected an application to challenge a lower court’s bail refusal to a speech therapist, who was accused of publishing "seditious" children’s books about sheep and wolves.
Speech therapists Lai Man-ling, Melody Yeung Yat-yee, Sidney Ng Hau-yi, Samuel Chan Yuen-sum and Marco Fong Tsz-ho were arrested by Hong Kong national security police in July, 2021. They are accused of conspiring with Wong Hoi-ching, another member of the General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists, in printing, publishing, and distributing three children’s books, Guardians of the Sheep Village, 12 Warriors of the Sheep Village, and Dustman of the Sheep Village.
The were accused of intending to “bring into hatred of contempt or to excite disaffection” against the Hong Kong government and “the administration of justice in Hong Kong.”
They were charged with two counts of conspiring to publish, distribute, display or reproduce seditious publications, a breach of a colonial-era law under the Crimes Ordinance, and were denied bail.
Ng, one of the five defendants, took the case up to the Court of Final Appeal seeking leave to challenge the lower courts’ decisions.
Defence counsel Hectar Pun argued that the five defendants are facing charges under Section 10 of the Crimes Ordinance and not the National Security Law, and therefore the stricter threshold for granting bail should not apply.
Prosecutors argued that the Court of Final Appeal had ruled that sedition is considered an act that endangers national security. Violations of the Crimes Ordinance with relevance to the national security law may also endanger national security.
#FreedomOfSpeech #SheepVillage #RedLine #NationalSecurityLaw #ThoughtPolice #Children #sedition
Source: inmediahk; #Dec14
https://bit.ly/325iVU0
====
Related News
HK National Security Police cracks down even Speech Therapists over children’s books
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30705
Authors of "Sheep Village" Illustrated Books Handed 19-Month Sentence; Judge Questions Lack of Mention that "Sheep Village is Part of Wolf Village"
Five former committee members of the de-registered General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists, accused of publishing three illustrated books of the "Sheep Village" series, were found guilty of conspiring to print, publish, distribute and display with seditious intent. After being detained for more than a year, they were sentenced in the District Court to 19 months imprisonment on Saturday Sept 10, the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
It was the first case in which the defendant pleaded not guilty to seditious publication charges. Designated #NationalSecurityLaw judge Kwok Wai-kin set 21 months as the starting point of the sentence for each defendant, with a discretionary deduction of two months, resulting in a sentence of 19 months imprisonment.
The judge said that the audience of the illustrated books is children aged four and above, who are like "plain paper". He criticises the defendants' books for using sheep and wolves as an analogy for Hong Kong and China, respectively. He claimed that the books accused China of doing something illegal and improper, and "sowed the seeds of instability" for the Central government and Hong Kong by indicating that China had no sovereignty over Hong Kong and that Hong Kong was not part of China. He also accused the defendants of "brainwashing" younger readers, poisoning their minds, and mobilising parents to participate.
Before sentencing, the judge asked the defendant several questions: "When will you leave the prison of your mind?" "Did you put the truth in the illustrated books? Why didn't the books tell readers that the shepherds left because they had no right to continue to govern the place?" "Why not mention that the sheep village is part of the wolf village?" "Why is freedom of speech used to deny China's indisputable sovereignty over Hong Kong?"
The judge quoted the defense's plea that the defendants are "elite" and "smart people", and that they could understand what he meant.
As the five defendants entered the detention room, they waved to the bystanders. Someone in the gallery shouted, "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!"
They will still serve their sentences for about one more month, and are expected to be free by next month.
Source: The Witness #Sep10
https://bit.ly/3BtQL3Z
#SpeechTherapists #SheepVillage #sedition #NSL #KwokWaiKin
Five former committee members of the de-registered General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists, accused of publishing three illustrated books of the "Sheep Village" series, were found guilty of conspiring to print, publish, distribute and display with seditious intent. After being detained for more than a year, they were sentenced in the District Court to 19 months imprisonment on Saturday Sept 10, the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
It was the first case in which the defendant pleaded not guilty to seditious publication charges. Designated #NationalSecurityLaw judge Kwok Wai-kin set 21 months as the starting point of the sentence for each defendant, with a discretionary deduction of two months, resulting in a sentence of 19 months imprisonment.
The judge said that the audience of the illustrated books is children aged four and above, who are like "plain paper". He criticises the defendants' books for using sheep and wolves as an analogy for Hong Kong and China, respectively. He claimed that the books accused China of doing something illegal and improper, and "sowed the seeds of instability" for the Central government and Hong Kong by indicating that China had no sovereignty over Hong Kong and that Hong Kong was not part of China. He also accused the defendants of "brainwashing" younger readers, poisoning their minds, and mobilising parents to participate.
Before sentencing, the judge asked the defendant several questions: "When will you leave the prison of your mind?" "Did you put the truth in the illustrated books? Why didn't the books tell readers that the shepherds left because they had no right to continue to govern the place?" "Why not mention that the sheep village is part of the wolf village?" "Why is freedom of speech used to deny China's indisputable sovereignty over Hong Kong?"
The judge quoted the defense's plea that the defendants are "elite" and "smart people", and that they could understand what he meant.
As the five defendants entered the detention room, they waved to the bystanders. Someone in the gallery shouted, "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!"
They will still serve their sentences for about one more month, and are expected to be free by next month.
Source: The Witness #Sep10
https://bit.ly/3BtQL3Z
#SpeechTherapists #SheepVillage #sedition #NSL #KwokWaiKin
法庭線 The Witness
羊村繪本案｜5人罪成判囚1年7月 料下月刑滿 楊逸意親陳詞：冇後悔企喺羊嗰方 - 法庭線 The Witness
首被告黎雯齡及楊逸意早上解聘法律代表，親自陳詞。黎雯齡表示，希望分享 5 日審訊、還押 13 個月的反思及體會。她指，控方引用極端恐怖份子為例，認為言論自由不能夠牴觸國家安全，惟她質疑「有限制嘅自由係咪自由呢？」
Lorie Lai Man-ling and Melody Yeung Yat-yee, two among five defendants of the case of "Sheep Village", dismissed their defence counsel in the morning and made their submissions.
The first defendant Lorie Lai shared her reflections and experiences from the five-day trial and the 13-month remand over the court. She rebuttal the prosecutor, who took extremist terrorists as an example to argue that freedom of speech must not conflict with national security, and question whether "freedom with restrictions is freedom?"
She was interrupted by Judge Kwok Wai-kin, "If you continue that way, it would be a political statement. If you think I am wrong, then appeal my decision. If you think the prosecution's interpretation is wrong, then appeal theirs!" Kwok continues, "Hong Kong has the Court of Final Appeal, with foreign judges sitting there. I don't think we can single-handedly hide the sky."
The second defendant Melody Yeung said in pleading the case, “rather than judging us for seditious intent and spreading rumours, I think it’s about judging the correct view of history.” She said that Athens could judge Socrates, but not philosophy; The Catholic church could judge Galileo, but not heliocentrism, and that “in history, there’s no single, absolutely corrected view, but a diversity of perspectives. There’s no absolute correctness, only the ability to withstand repeated tests.”
She said only the people’s hearts could judge whether the illustrated books were a genuine reflection of Hong Kong’s social sentiment, a record of the community’s historical perspective, or a spread of rumours.
"If national security only means the security of the ruling group, without respect for personal freedom, then even peace and prosperity is an illusion based on fear," she said, "countless Hong Kong people have come and gone hoping to change uneven political power like this, but they were beaten and shot."
The judge again stopped her speech and said, "All right, all right, Miss Yeung, I think it's over."
Yeung responded, “now it's the relevant part.” Then she points out that the series of political offences affect only not a "handful of people" such as the case's defendants but would lead to a self-silencing civil society and a long-term regression in thought and civilisation.
Yeung was interrupted a second time as she explained the “interchangeable” roles of sheep and wolf in the story. This time she was interrupted by the prosecutor Ng Shuk-kuen, the acting Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, who stood up and said to the judge , “I believe [Yeung] has gone too far.”
Yeung said, "ok, last words. I never regret being on the side of the sheep. The only thing I regret is that I couldn't get more books done before I was arrested, or that I wasn't more obsessed with the quality of my books." provoking tears among some court spectators.
The third defendant Sidney Ng Hau-yi quoted the speech of Nobel Laureate Camus, who said, "A writer cannot serve today those who make history; he must serve those who are subject to it. Otherwise, he will be alone and deprived of his art."
"The essence of education should be inspiration and guidance, not intimidation and indoctrination, and the same is true when explaining the relationship between individual and country to children," she added.
"Rather than inciting hatred, the three illustrated books are meant to explain the source of these feelings and why they are intensifying so rapidly after 2019; Rather than inciting disobedience, the aim is to make children reflect on the basis of law-abiding, rather than blindly obeying out of fear; Rather than inciting anything, I would like to record acts of bravery."
Source: The Witness #Sep10
#SpeechTherapists #sheepVillage #sedition #NSL #KwokWaiKin #NgShukKuen
https://bit.ly/3BtQL3Z
The first defendant Lorie Lai shared her reflections and experiences from the five-day trial and the 13-month remand over the court. She rebuttal the prosecutor, who took extremist terrorists as an example to argue that freedom of speech must not conflict with national security, and question whether "freedom with restrictions is freedom?"
She was interrupted by Judge Kwok Wai-kin, "If you continue that way, it would be a political statement. If you think I am wrong, then appeal my decision. If you think the prosecution's interpretation is wrong, then appeal theirs!" Kwok continues, "Hong Kong has the Court of Final Appeal, with foreign judges sitting there. I don't think we can single-handedly hide the sky."
The second defendant Melody Yeung said in pleading the case, “rather than judging us for seditious intent and spreading rumours, I think it’s about judging the correct view of history.” She said that Athens could judge Socrates, but not philosophy; The Catholic church could judge Galileo, but not heliocentrism, and that “in history, there’s no single, absolutely corrected view, but a diversity of perspectives. There’s no absolute correctness, only the ability to withstand repeated tests.”
She said only the people’s hearts could judge whether the illustrated books were a genuine reflection of Hong Kong’s social sentiment, a record of the community’s historical perspective, or a spread of rumours.
"If national security only means the security of the ruling group, without respect for personal freedom, then even peace and prosperity is an illusion based on fear," she said, "countless Hong Kong people have come and gone hoping to change uneven political power like this, but they were beaten and shot."
The judge again stopped her speech and said, "All right, all right, Miss Yeung, I think it's over."
Yeung responded, “now it's the relevant part.” Then she points out that the series of political offences affect only not a "handful of people" such as the case's defendants but would lead to a self-silencing civil society and a long-term regression in thought and civilisation.
Yeung was interrupted a second time as she explained the “interchangeable” roles of sheep and wolf in the story. This time she was interrupted by the prosecutor Ng Shuk-kuen, the acting Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, who stood up and said to the judge , “I believe [Yeung] has gone too far.”
Yeung said, "ok, last words. I never regret being on the side of the sheep. The only thing I regret is that I couldn't get more books done before I was arrested, or that I wasn't more obsessed with the quality of my books." provoking tears among some court spectators.
The third defendant Sidney Ng Hau-yi quoted the speech of Nobel Laureate Camus, who said, "A writer cannot serve today those who make history; he must serve those who are subject to it. Otherwise, he will be alone and deprived of his art."
"The essence of education should be inspiration and guidance, not intimidation and indoctrination, and the same is true when explaining the relationship between individual and country to children," she added.
"Rather than inciting hatred, the three illustrated books are meant to explain the source of these feelings and why they are intensifying so rapidly after 2019; Rather than inciting disobedience, the aim is to make children reflect on the basis of law-abiding, rather than blindly obeying out of fear; Rather than inciting anything, I would like to record acts of bravery."
Source: The Witness #Sep10
#SpeechTherapists #sheepVillage #sedition #NSL #KwokWaiKin #NgShukKuen
https://bit.ly/3BtQL3Z
法庭線 The Witness
羊村繪本案｜5人罪成判囚1年7月 料下月刑滿 楊逸意親陳詞：冇後悔企喺羊嗰方 - 法庭線 The Witness
首被告黎雯齡及楊逸意早上解聘法律代表，親自陳詞。黎雯齡表示，希望分享 5 日審訊、還押 13 個月的反思及體會。她指，控方引用極端恐怖份子為例，認為言論自由不能夠牴觸國家安全，惟她質疑「有限制嘅自由係咪自由呢？」